It's hoped a bill recently signed into law by Governor Abbott will help newly released convicts get a fresh start.
House bill 569 will wipe away fines and fees for those released from jail or prison. It was authored by Republican representative Scott Sanford of McKinney. He says this will allow those released to a better opportunity to reintegrate into society. "And be productive citizens. They can get their driver license more quickly and they can get a job more easily."
He says the former inmates could do nothing about paying back that money, with interest, while locked up. He says usually a misdemeanor proceeds a person's sentence.
"Then they get incarcerated without taking care of that small misdemeanor. That racks up over time. Then they do their time and they come out and they find out they've got this huge debt based upon running a stop sign before they went to prison."
This measure is called the Bonton Farms bill. Bonton Farms is a south Dallas farm and cafe that hires those recently released. Their founder says in the ten years they've done this, they've never had a single person re-offend. The bill had bipartisan support.
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